RAGBRAI Journal: East/West Shuttles

Step 1... Register for RAGBRAI... check.

Step 2... Register for a Charter Service... check. (only if you don't already have a dedicated driver, a team bus/RV, or just someone to act as you baggage sherpa).

What's next? What do I need to make sure I don't miss out on next?

The answer to that question is... as you clearly guessed by the article title...

Step 3... Signup for the East/West Shuttles.

Grab your coffee or that beverage of choice... this is a long one.

What are the East/West Shuttles?

The East/West Shuttle is nothing more than the bus transportation services that are available to transport folks across Iowa. These bus services are available both before the RAGBRAI, and after the RAGBRAI.

Before the start of the RAGBRAI, all of these shuttle buses are traveling eastbound to the start town on the Missouri side of Iowa. After the end of the last day of RAGBRAI, all of these shuttle buses simply reverse direction, departing from the Mississippi side of Iowa, and traveling westbound back to the Missouri side of Iowa.

These buses are usually fairly nice... private coach buses with comfortable seats, air-conditioning, and an onboard restroom (think Greyhound bus). Nice, clean, and comfortable. Pretty simple, eh?

Remember: Do not confuse the East/West Shuttles with the "shuttle services" available in the overnight towns. That is why I call them the East/West Shuttles to make a clear distinction. The "shuttle services" are merely small trolleys or school buses used to transport RAGBRAI riders to/from the many campgrounds so that riders can enjoy all the festivities offered by the overnight town. At most these "shuttle services" are traveling 2-5 miles. whereas the East/West Shuttles are traveling hundreds of miles across Iowa.

Do I really need the East/West Shuttles?

If you are one of those folks without a dedicated driver, without a team bus/RV, or without that special someone serving as your sherpa, you, my friend, will have need for transport across Iowa either before, and/or after the RAGBRAI. And therefore, the East/West Shuttles should be in your future.

So for all of those in need of transport across Iowa, read on....

East/West Shuttles Action Items

If you've done your homework and read through the "What is RAGBRAI?" web page, you've likely come across the "Travel Arrangements" section. There you hopefully saw the following note from the RAGBRAI folks: "Travel to the starting point of RAGBRAI and back home from the ending point of the ride is each rider’s responsibility."

If you caught that, great. But did you catch the following note in that same section?

"For transportation to and from the start and the end of the route, consult the list of charters."

In my opinion, this is a confusing section for beginners. The information in that section makes sense when you read it, but when you sit down and try to actually determine what transportation you really need, it really just seems to get confusing. What exactly do I need? And where do I signup?

Here is my recipe and action items you should take.

The first action item is...

Find one or more sanctioned RAGBRAI Charter Services that offer East/West Shuttles.

The next action item is...

Create an online account with one or more of your chosen sanctioned RAGBRAI Charter Services.

The next action item is... this is the complicated part.

Determine what your East/West Shuttle needs are.

The last action item is...

Signup for your needed East/West Shuttles with one of the sanctioned RAGBRAI Charter Services.

Find one or more sanctioned RAGBRAI Charter Services that offer East/West Shuttles.

Not all Charter Services offer East/West Shuttles, so do your research. Find the charters that do, offer this service and make note of them. As you've heard me say several times by now, everything RAGBRA related is "first come, first served", and Charter Services are no exception. Actually, Charter Services are the one thing that goes incredibly fast. Super fast. Don't take this lightly. This really is just like trying to get those prized concert tickets before they sell out. I am recommending that you do the research so you are primed and ready for the day those tickets go on sale, literally. This will help increase your chances of not getting shutout when the time comes. I recommend that you have a few of these Charter Services already in targeted. Trust me, do the work now to save yourself the time so you can pivot quickly.

Create an online account with one or more of your chosen sanctioned RAGBRAI Charter Services.

This is where you are do some of the work online work up front. Signing up for an account on a Charter Service's web site is pretty easy. Once you create your account, you will be granted access to see even more details of their services and offerings. In almost all cases, the Charter Service companies do not make the East/West Shuttle signup available until after the RAGBRAI route is announced. But once the shuttles are made available, they go quickly. By having your online accounts already created, once those shuttles are available, you just need to login, submit your shuttle selection, and pay the fees. Since slots fill up quickly, having online accounts with multiple Charter Service companies doesn't hurt. If your are shut out of your first Charter Service choice, having your second or third choices in hand will help you pivot quickly and just might increase your chances of snagging your slot with one of your choices.

Determine what your East/West Shuttle needs are.

This is the biggie... the most confusing... and where you will likely spend most of your time and effort trying to sort out. Knowing what choices you have ahead of time ,can, and will, help reduce the time you spend on your decision.

Spend the time now to determine exactly what bus transport you need so that you signup for the correct bus ride(s). Be sure to remember that your shuttle choice needs to include your seat on the bus, as well as your baggage, and transport of your bike.

So how do I know what bus(es) shuttle I need to signup for?

Well... Simply put... your East/West Shuttle transportation needs are determined by where you arrive in/near Iowa before the RAGBRAI.

This all gets very complicated, very fast. Especially the first time you go through this process. So to keep things simple, I will mention the 4 most common shuttle options that are offered by the Charter Services. But be aware that not all Charter Services offer all of these bus routes. Some charters offer only bus transport routes to/from the start and end towns. Still others offer shuttles to airports close to the start or end towns, but not back to the start town. It is a bit haphazard, so take the time to research what is available, and how the shuttle routes jibe with where you are thinking you will arrive in Iowa.

Give a read through the following examples to see exactly what shuttle transports you will need. At the end of it, I am hopefully you get the idea of how you make your decision.

The 4 most typical pre-RAGBRAI arrival points in/near Iowa are:

Coming from east of Iowa... Arrival in end town (eastern Iowa)
Coming from north/south of Iowa... Arrival at Des Moines, IA airport (central Iowa)
Coming from west of Iowa... Arrival at start town (western of Iowa)
Coming from west of Iowa... Arrival at Omaha, NE airport (west of Iowa)

Arrival in end town (eastern Iowa)

For those arriving and parking in the end town (eastern Iowa), you will need to signup for only the eastbound shuttle for transport from the end town to the start town. Since the RAGBRAI ride ends where you originally hopped onto the eastbound shuttle, you will finish the route exactly where you started it all. So no additional post-RAGBRAI transport needed beyond this one.

This can be a 4-1/2 to 5 hour trip, so you will have plenty of time to ease into things.
Prices for this shuttle can run between $175 to $190 per person (includes baggage and bike).
Typically eastbound shuttles are offered on both the Friday and Saturday before RAGBRAI.
Friday eastbound shuttles typically are scheduled for roughly 1:00pm and 3:00pm.
Saturday eastbound shuttles are typically offered three times, with last departure time somewhere around 9:00am.

Arrival at Des Moines, IA airport (central Iowa)

For those arriving in Des Moines, IA airport (central Iowa), you will need to signup for the eastbound shuttle for transport to the start town before the RAGBRAI. You will also need to signup for the westbound shuttle after the RAGABRAI so you return back to Des Moines since this is where you arrived in Iowa.

For the shuttle from Des Moines airport to the start town,

This can be a 2 to 2-1/2 hour trip, so you will have some time to ease into things.
Prices for this shuttle can run between $150 to $165 per person.
Typically eastbound shuttles are offered only on the Saturday before RAGBRAI.
Saturday eastbound shuttles are typically offered with only one time slot, with last departure time somewhere around 9:00am.

For the shuttle from the end town back to Des Moines airport,

This can be a 2 to 2-1/2 hour trip, so you will have some time to ease into things.
Prices for this shuttle can run between $150 to $165 per person.
Typically westbound shuttles are offered only on the Saturday at the end of the RAGBRAI.
Saturday westbound shuttles are typically offered with 2:30pm or 3:00pm departure.

Arrival in start town (western Iowa)

For those arriving and parking in the start town (western Iowa), you will need to signup for only the westbound shuttle for transport from the end town back to the start town. You are only in need of transport post-RAGBRAI. You hopped on your bike in the start town, so the only transport you require is a bus ride to return to your car at the end of the ride.

This can be a 4-1/2 to 5 hour trip, so you will have plenty of time to ease into things.
Prices for this shuttle can run between $175 to $190 per person (includes baggage and bike).
Typically westbound shuttles are offered only on the Saturday at the end of the RAGBRAI.
Saturday westbound shuttles are typically offered with 12:30pm and 2:30pm departures.

Arrival at Omaha, NE airport (west of Iowa)

For those arriving and parking in Omaha, NE, which is roughly 25 miles from the start town (western Iowa), you will need to signup for the eastbound shuttle to the start town before the RAGBRAI. You will also need to signup for the westbound shuttle for the return trip from the end town to the Omaha, NE airport at the end of the RAGBRAI ride.

For the shuttle from Omaha airport to the start town,

This can be a 25 minute trip, so you don't have too far to go.
Prices for this shuttle can run between $45 to $50 per person.
Typically eastbound shuttles are offered only on the Saturday before RAGBRAI.
Saturday eastbound shuttles are typically offered throughout the day, with last departure time somewhere around 4:00pm.

For the shuttle from the end town back to Omaha airport,

This can be a 4-1/2 to 5 hour trip, so you will have time to decompress and relax.
Prices for this shuttle can run between $185 to $195 per person.
Typically westbound shuttles are offered only on the Saturday at the end of the RAGBRAI.
Saturday westbound shuttles are typically offered with 12:30pm and 2:30pm departures.

Signup for your needed East/West Shuttles with one of the sanctioned RAGBRAI Charter Services.

This is all about hitting the submit button to reserve your slot on the East/West Shuttles. Once you've determined which shuttle(s) you need, this is just about getting your seat reservation and a place for your baggage and bike. That's it... getting those proverbial concert tickets... nothing more. Knowing that you have your transportation completely covered will be peace of mind. This is about officially checking that "transportation box" to say you've got your seat!

Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

Phew, that was a lot. But I had to get it all out there. The East/West Shuttle topic is actually much harder to put in writing than it is to wrap you head around.

First timers, the shuttle decision is really just a matter of alignment. You are merely trying to align your arrival in/near Iowa with the location where an East/West Shuttle is offered. Nothing more than that. It is just like figuring out connecting flights as you try to head off to that sunny vacation in the Caribbean. But sooooo worth it!!

Here is the good news. Once you've gone through the transport shuttle decision once, you've pretty much got it nailed. I say nailed in that if/when you want to ride RAGBRAI again. As with everything in life, if you chose a Charter Service that you ultimately had a great experience with, you are likely to use them again. This means, in 2025 when your are doing your signups again for RAGBRAI, you are pretty much done already. The Charter Services typically have the very same offerings one year to the next. Their websites are pretty much the same in that you've already got an account on their site. And your arrival in/near Iowa will likewise be pretty much be a repeat of where you are arriving in 2024. So next year in January/February of 2025, you will only need to login to your chosen Charter Service and pick the exact same East/West Shuttle service from 2024. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Easy as pie every time after the first time.

The journey continues.

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